Have you always wanted to see Chapman University’s annual show-of-shows, “American Celebration” – the live, all-student Broadway-style revue produced by our College of Performing Arts? Now’s your chance.

Chapman is giving away 50 free tickets to the show on Halloween night, Friday, Oct. 31 – each a $45 value – to the first 50 callers. So give us a call at 714-997-6589 as soon as you can, and see if you can nab a free ticket. (There’s a limit of two per resident.)

The theme of this year’s American Celebration is “The Movies That Made Us Sing and Dance,” so you’ll see fully costumed and produced scenes from such classics as “Singin’ in the Rain,” “An American in Paris” plus a tribute to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The show has an all-Chapman-student cast, under artistic director and producer Dale Merrill, associate dean of the College of Performing Arts (CoPA), with music direction by Dr. William Hall, dean of CoPA, leading a talented live orchestra.

Friday night’s show is the opening night of the two-night run. On Saturday, Nov. 1, the show will be part of a black-tie gala to raise funds for student scholarships, with individual tickets starting at $2,000 each (by the time you read this, those will probably be sold out). So landing a free ticket is a pretty great deal – you’ll be enjoying the same show the Saturday-night gala attendees will be seeing.

If you think, “Oh, ho-hum, another student show,” I can guarantee you that thought will be gone after the first number. When I first came to Chapman four years ago, I had never seen American Celebration and didn’t have a clue, but when I saw the show I was completely dazzled. (And this is from someone who’d always worked PR for major performing arts centers, including the OC Performing Arts Center.) Chapman’s young singer-dancers are flat-out extraordinary, and you won’t see more talent or energy on any Broadway stage (in fact, I’ve often seen less on Broadway itself).

So if you need a real lift in the midst of all this nasty economic news, come to American Celebration – you’ll be glad you did. And the price – free – is certainly right for what I know you’ll agree is the best live performance in town.

Contact the writer: Mary Platt is Chapman University’s director of communications and media relations. She can be reached at 714-628-7271 or platt@chapman.edu.